Bill Text: CA AB2232 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: University of California: medical education.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-1)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2014-08-14 - In committee: Held under submission. [AB2232 Detail]

Download: California-2013-AB2232-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 2232	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 12, 2014
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 23, 2014

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Gray
    (   Coauthor:   Assembly Member  
Alejo   ) 
    (   Coauthors:   Senators  
Cannella   and Galgiani   ) 

                        FEBRUARY 21, 2014

   An act relating to the University of California, and making an
appropriation therefor.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2232, as amended, Gray. University of California: medical
education.
   Existing provisions of the California Constitution establish the
University of California as a public trust under the administration
of the Regents of the University of California. The University of
California system includes 10 campuses, which are located in
Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego,
San Francisco, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz.
   This bill would express findings and declarations of the
Legislature relating to the role of the University of California with
respect to access to health care in the San Joaquin Valley.
   The bill would appropriate $1,225,000 from the General Fund to the
regents each fiscal year, commencing with the 2015-16 fiscal year,
for allocation to the University of California to support expansion
of the San Joaquin Valley Program in Medical Education, as specified.

   Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) The federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, when
fully implemented in 2014, will mean that millions of previously
uninsured Californians will be seeking health services, including
physician care. As a result of this additional demand for physician
services, the projected statewide physician shortfall is 17,000 by
2015.
   (b) The San Joaquin Valley, which runs from Stockton to
Bakersfield, is rich in cultural diversity and is the nation's
leading agricultural region. However, the valley is
disproportionately affected by the state's physician shortage, which
is expected to intensify in the years ahead given the high rate of
population growth in the area. Access to health care is 31 percent
lower in the San Joaquin Valley than in the rest of California.
   (c) Several regions of the San Joaquin Valley are federally
designated Medically Underserved Areas (MUAs). The calculation of
MUAs involves four variables: ratio of primary medical care
physicians per 1,000 population, infant mortality rate, percentage of
the population with incomes below the poverty level, and percentage
of the population 65 years of age or over.
   (d) UC Merced's San Joaquin Valley Program in Medical Education
(PRIME) is providing a key resource for training valley health care
providers. This program accomplishes all of the following:
   (1) Strengthens the desire for new physicians to practice in the
San Joaquin Valley, which is one of California's most medically
underserved areas.
   (2) Reduces health disparities and inequalities in the San Joaquin
Valley.
   (3) Forms lasting relationships between the program and
communities, hospitals, clinics, and physicians to enhance health
care in the region.
   (e) Students who take part in PRIME benefit from firsthand
experience with interdisciplinary health care by providing care in
medically underserved communities, working with patients and families
from culturally diverse backgrounds, and developing a true
understanding of the issues and conditions that impact access to and
quality of health care in the region.
   (f) Despite its numerous benefits for its region, PRIME lacks an
ongoing source of funding for its current enrollment as well as the
financial resources to expand capacity to meet the needs of the
valley.
  SEC. 2.  The sum of one million two hundred twenty-five thousand
dollars ($1,225,000) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to
the Regents of the University of California each fiscal year,
commencing with the 2015-16 fiscal year, for allocation to the
University of California to support expansion of the San Joaquin
Valley PRIME program to admit up to 12 students per year and  to
 operate the program with up to 48 student participants from
across the four-year curriculum annually.